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FoodCycler

Join the municipality in tackling food waste by piloting FoodCycler™ technology in your home. Support your municipality by testing this innovative technology!
 
 
 
Why should I participate?
Did you know that up to 50% of household waste is composed of food waste? By helping your municipality address food waste, you are supporting your community's environmental initiatives, while reducing your carbon footprint.
 
What is required of me?
Not much! Purchase a FoodCycler™ from your municipality at a subsidized cost, track your use once a week for a period of 12 weeks and then answer a brief exit survey. 
 
The Rural Municipality of West St. Paul will be offering two unit sizes, the ‘FC-30’ and the double capacity ‘Maestro’. Through this pilot program for the FC-30 residents will only pay $150.00 and for the Maestro residents will only pay $300.00.
 
Please note that only one entry per household is permitted.
  

 
 
 

  • Most fruit and vegetable scraps
  • Meat, shellfish, and poultry scraps
  • Cheese
  • Beans, seeds, and legumes
  • Chicken and fish bones/shells
  • Coffee grounds, filters, and tea bags
  • Eggs and eggshells
  • Hard, dense bones (beef, pork, lamb and bison)
  • Candy or gum
  • Cooking oils and greases
  • Hard pits (peaches, apricots, nectarines)
  • Nuts and other hard shells
  • Pineapple leaves
  • Watermelon rinds
  • Cake
  • Rice
  • Bread
  • Pasta
  • High sugar fruits (grapes, bananas, melon, oranges and pineapple)
  • Sauces
  • Jams
  • Jellies
  • Peanut butter
  • Fibrous herbs & plants (celery, parsley, etc.)
  • Corn cobs & husks
  • Paper towels/tissue
  • Pineapple leaves
  • Whole fruits & vegetables

Each cycle consumes approximately 0.8-1.5 kWh per cycle, which is roughly equivalent to having a desktop computer running for the same amount of time as the cycle. Depending on where you live, each cycle should not cost you more than a couple of cents.

The FoodCycler™ has built-in sensor technology that monitors the dryness and humidity of the food waste. Once complete, the unit will stop the cycle automatically.

The NEW FoodCycler™ has a 5L Bucket capacity

The FC-30 and FC-50 units have a 2.5 liter Bucket capacity. We recommend keeping the contents below the indicator line level to avoid jams.

In the NEW FoodCycler™, a typical cycle takes between 4-9 hours for the food waste to become completely dehydrated and processed into the by-product

For the FC-30 and FC-50 units 4-8 hours (with an average of 5 hours) for the food waste to become completely dehydrated and processed.

The time needed depends on the amount of food waste being processed, the density of the food wastes and the moisture levels contained in each. Please note that these estimates exclude the unit's cooling time which lasts less than a half hour on average.
The carbon filters last between 3-4 months with regular use, or 500 cycle hours. The life expectancy of the carbon filters is determined by the moisture content of the food waste, and the natural odours of the food waste. Denser, wetter and smellier food wastes will go through filters much faster than simple veggie scraps and egg shells.
Yes, the New FoodCycler™ can process fish, chicken, pork, lamb and other small bones, while the FoodCycler™ FC-30 can process fish and chicken bones. Large bones can cause jams or damage all units’ bucket grinding gears.
The drying phase is focused on removing moisture from your food waste.

The grinding phase continues the drying process, removing any remaining moisture, while the bucket grinding blades agitate and pulverize the food waste.

The cooling phase is a safety measure to return the processed food waste to near-room temperature, making it safe to handle. Power usage is minimal during the cooling phase.

*PLEASE DO NOT SKIP THE COOLING CYCLE. It is for your safety and for the safe handling of your FoodCycler™ and grinding Bucket.
You can add additional food waste to the New FoodCycler™ once the cycle has already begun, preferably early in the drying or grinding phases. Adding food waste midway through the cycle may result in unprocessed food waste at the end of the cycle, as this extends the dehydration and grinding process. If this occurs, we recommend starting a second cycle until the food waste has been completely broken down.
We advise that you keep the lid closed till the cycle is complete to prevent the cycle from being prematurely or improperly finished, or from lasting longer than usual. The only exception is if you add more food waste to the unit while it is recycling, but we strongly recommend that you take care when opening the lid mid-cycle as the food waste and bucket get very hot during the process so it is strongly recommended to keep the lid shut.
Once the unit beeps and/or shuts off following a cycle, the Bucket is safe to handle - though may still be quite warm. Please exercise caution when handling the bucket directly after a cycle.
The unit could be emitting an odor for a variety of reasons.

The carbon filters are required to ensure a near-odorless cycle. They last approximately 500 cycle hours, or 3-4 months with regular use.

Even if the ‘replace filter’ light has not gone on yet, you may need to switch out your filter carbon. Similarly, you can continue cycling even if the filter light has gone on and no odors are apparent.

Filter life is determined by the moisture quantity in the food waste, and the natural odors of each cycle. If you are cycling rotten, smelly or potent food wastes (such as rotten meat, or old cheese) your filters may not last as long as if you were cycling simple veggie scraps and coffee grounds.
The removable grinding bucket is dishwasher-safe. However, you don't really need to clean it at all! If the bucket is not jammed with processed food waste, you can simply continue to add food waste to the bucket and cycle as usual. Any residue stuck to the bucket is almost always a cosmetic issue, and caused by the oil/grease or moisture content of the unit cycle. For an all-natural clean, try cycling citrus peels by themselves! This will also help to eliminate any trapped odors in the unit's ventilation system.

If dried food waste is stuck to the bucket, soak in warm soapy water to remove.

CAUTION: Do not reach your hand into the New FoodCycler™ bucket, as the blades are extremely sharp.
Methane gas is emitted during the decomposition process of organic materials in an anaerobic ("no air") environment. Methane is 30 times more insulative of atmospheric heat than CO₂, and is therefore a huge contributing force to global climate change. Since the FoodCycler™ aerates the food waste while heating and pulverizing (an aerobic environment), those environmentally damaging methane gases are not produced at all.
Yes you can! Please be aware that, like most appliances, the FoodCycler™ is not intended to function in below-freezing temperatures. The FoodCycler™ must be in a closed, dry environment where there is no risk of it being rained on or otherwise subjected to the elements.
FoodCycler™ products use a refillable filter system, which means that you can keep using your filters indefinitely and simply replace the carbon itself when they are ready to be changed. The filter carbon is a harmless organic material, and can be safely disposed of in your regular trash. Buckets can be recycled through your local metal scrap collection service.
Your by-product can be stored after your cycle in an open-air container for a period of one week. After this one-week period, you can store the by-product for up to a year in a closed-top container, if preferred.